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Paul M. Kurtz

Associate Dean & Professor Emeritus

B.A, J.D., Vanderbilt University
LL.M., Harvard University

Courses:

Criminal Law
Family Law

Biographical Information:

Paul M. Kurtz was a faculty member at the University of Georgia School of Law from 1975 to 2013, specializing in criminal law and family law. He served as the law school's associate dean from 1991 until 2013 and was named to a prestigious endowed position as the J. Alton Hosch Professor of Law in 1994.

As associate dean for academic and student affairs, Kurtz supervised the law school's academic program and curriculum. He assigned courses, developed the law school's academic calendar and hired adjunct professors. In addition, Kurtz advised the dean, represented the school at events when the dean could not be present and assisted the institutional advancement team in alumni relations and fundraising efforts.

Kurtz's scholarship includes two books, Family Law: Cases, Text, Problems 5th edition (with professors Ira Ellman, Lois Weithorn, Brian Bix, Karen Czapanskiy and Maxine Eichner) and Criminal Offenses and Defenses in Georgia. He also served as associate editor and a board of editors member for the Family Law Quarterly.

Very active in legislative issues, Kurtz served as reporter for the Georgia Supreme Court's Indigent Defense Reform Commission (2000-03), which was the driving force behind landmark legislation enacted in 2003. He served from 2003 to 2009 (by appointment from Chief Judge J.D. Smith of the Georgia Court of Appeals) on the 11-member Public Defender Standards Council, charged with the responsibility for delivering indigent criminal defense services within the state's criminal justice system. He was also a member of the Public Interest Loan Repayment Task Force that wrote legislation creating a state fund for this cause, which was passed by the Georgia Legislature in 2002.

In 2001, Kurtz was appointed as a commissioner to represent Georgia on the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws. He had previously served as a reporter for NCCUSL and was a member of the Drafting Committee of the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act from 1988 to 1992. He also served as a reporter to the NCCUSL Drafting Committee on the Status of Children of Assisted Conception from 1987 to 1988. He served as chair of the drafting committees on the Uniform Deployed Parents Custody and Visitation Act (2009-12) and the Uniform Recognition and Enforcement of Canadian Domestic-Violence Protection Orders (2013- ).

In addition, he is a member of the American Law Institute and served as adviser on the ALI Project on Principles of Family Dissolution in 1998-99.

Active in law school and university affairs throughout his career, Kurtz was elected by colleagues to three terms of service on the University Council as well as two terms on the board of the Georgia Athletic Association. He has been a Senior Foundation Fellow since 1995, acting as a mentor to recipients of UGA's highest undergraduate scholarship. He served as chair of the University Council Executive Committee in 1988-89.

In 2011, Kurtz was presented with the Athens Justice Project’s Milner S. Ball Social Justice Award for his work on behalf of indigent criminal defense in Georgia and on the reform of family law nationally as well as for his efforts benefiting other community organizations and causes. In addition, the law school’s alumni association presented him with its 2012 Distinguished Service Scroll Award, which recognizes individuals for their exceptional service and dedication to the legal profession and the law school and is the Law School Association’s highest honor.

Kurtz was a law clerk to Chief Judge Harry Phillips of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit upon his graduation from law school. He then taught at the law schools of Boston University and Boston College before joining the Georgia Law faculty. During his tenure at UGA, Kurtz was a visiting professor at the University of Texas, the University of Missouri, Vanderbilt University and Mercer University.

Kurtz earned his bachelor's and law degrees from Vanderbilt University and his Master of Laws from Harvard.